Thursday, October 31, 2019

Economic assisgnment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic assisgnment - Assignment Example Geometrically, this effect is demonstrated by a shift of demand curve for bananas from Latin American market. Since the supply of agricultural product is inelastic, a gradual increase in the demand of bananas causes excess demand or shortage of bananas. It means that many buyers with will and the purchasing power are chancing few bananas2. The equilibrium price increases but more proportional than the increase in the quantity supplied. Increase in quantity demanded and increased propane users have led to a boost in the demand for propane in the USA market. Since the supply is inelastic, this change in the USA market for propane causes a shift in the demand curve. It led to a shortage in the market, which encourage the supplier to skyrocket the price of propane to take the advantage in the market. Foreign goods become attractive to the US consumers, and they ought to import thereby decreasing the demand for propane in the US market. The equilibrium price decreases and equilibrium price will then decrease. In retrospect, propane and farm crops are complementary goods. When the price of propane increases, the price of farm crops also increases. The price of propane and reduced quantity of propane are among the non-price factors that affect the price of farm crops in the market. It causes a shortage since less will be produced and shift of the supply curve upward. The equilibrium price rises and equilibrium price decreases. According to Arthurs Okun’s theory, a three-percentage increase in economic growth causes a one-percentage decrease in unemployment. Mathematically, the data above is consistent3. On the other hand, Phillips explained that unemployment is inversely related to inflation. The figure above exemplifies this correlation since as the unemployment decreases from 10.0% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2006, inflation increases from 0.8% to 1.4% respectively. To this end, Okun’s theory

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Should the government bailout failing businesses - Argument aginst Research Paper

Should the government bailout failing businesses - Argument aginst - Research Paper Example But more intense debate of the present finance world is whether the decision of saving (bailing-out) these about-to-be bankrupt companies justified! The companies when fell into the trouble were within the periphery of private hands and now, when in trouble, saving them with the common man’s hard-earned money drew reservations from all concerned quarters. The money that was paid to the government to develop utility for the society is being used to discount the wrong doings of these financial giants over the years. Prior to getting deeper into the pros and cons of the bail-out process and its affects on the falling companies and the society at large, the underlying reasons of the financial crisis might be assessed in brief. The few of the major reasons of the financial crisis are ascertained below: Housing Prices – The housing prices in the United States rose to great heights till 2006 and then suddenly collapsed from then onwards. The collapse was more than 25% and continued for more than three years. As C.I. Jones observed, â€Å"The national index for housing prices in the United States declined by 26.6% between the middle of 2006 and the end of 2008† (Jones, 2009). Increase in Global Saving – Even a decade earlier, it was found that the developing economies of the world saved less and invested more. This rendered them to borrow funds from the world market. But as there occurred number of recessions over the period of last fifteen years, the developing economies commenced to save more. This hampered the western economies (especially United States) as it could not channelise their excess funds and earn interests. Ultimately, the excess funds contributed towards the asset market. Subprime Lending – The hype of owning houses that existed in the United States before 2006 made almost all nationals purchase a house which often

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Leadership in the UK Banking Sector

Leadership in the UK Banking Sector Banking industry in the United Kingdom, where has around 50 scheduled commercial banks, is one of the most competitive sectors and has a direct influence on this country economy. The story started 18 months ago, when global economic crisis spread in the UK. Following results of it caused some of the most successful British bank leaders have been forced to resign. In this assignment, the current and future leadership requirements of the British bank industry and the methods and techniques of developing leadership skills will be discussed. 2. Table of contents Executive summary Table of contents Introduction Aim and Objective Scope Methodology The Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The Current Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative leadership behaviour 7.2. The Predicted Future Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK 7.2.1. Power Motivation 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation 7.2.3. Technical Skills 7.2.4. System Thinking Leadership Development Supporting Leadership Development Special Technique for Leadership Training 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling 8.2.2. Case Discussion 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation 8.3. Developmental Activities 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program 8.3.3. Mentoring 8.3.4. Executive Coaching 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs 8.4. S Conclusion and Recommendations 9. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training 10. References 3. Introduction Leadership means  ° process of getting things done through other people. The qu °rtà Ã‚ µrb °Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ k moves the team towards  ° touchdown. Being a là Ã‚ µÃ‚ °dà Ã‚ µr is an  °dvà Ã‚ µnturà Ã‚ µ because you can never be sure whether you will reach your goals. So a leader always needs to improve his related personal skills and behaviours by getting new training. However, some of leadership sciences believe the most successful leaders learn from their life experience and apply them in their working behaviours (Tengblad, 2001). After, recent economic crisis and its results in the different sectors, there are some new effort to apply more leadership behaviour in their own organization. Following pages will be discussed particularly about leadership requirements in the UK bank sector. 4. Aim and Objectives The core of these pages is to identify the leadership requirements of the United Kingdom bank sector and find appropriate methods and techniques to reach these demands in current and future of bank industry. 5. Scope The ц¢Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ opà Ã‚ µ of this study rà Ã‚ µvolvà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ around the UK banking ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ tor and will be limited through  ° ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ ond °ry  °n °lyц¢iц¢ of the topic and ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ ond °ry rà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h data. 6. Methodology This assignment is base on secondary data. The research involves studies in details of newspapers, journals, leadership books and online material on the web. The rà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h was Ñ onduÑ tà Ã‚ µd through various ц¢ourÑ Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢, including libr °rià Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ and the Internet. à Ã‚  research library was visited for gathering useful data from textbooks and journals. The Internet was also an important tool to find relative information, là Ã‚ µÃ‚ °ding to the ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h for variety  °rtiÑ là Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ in journals and nà Ã‚ µwц¢p °pà Ã‚ µrц¢ from d °t °b °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µ. 7. Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The requirements for the UK banking sector will be presented in two different parts: current and future requirements. 7.1. The Current Bank Leadership requirements in the UK In the current situation, British government has lent too much money to bank industry to overcome their problem such as mortgage crisis and the credit crunch. Due to this, nowadays, the UK government has more shares in some banks and give time to them to lock for new rescuer and funding some new options to firstly, end up this situation and then pay back the money, although some banks like Lloyds TSB already did, they still are supported by the government. Another important area that the government has asked banks is: keeping this lending information secret and prevent any panic among bank customers that may decline the numbers of investors. The British governor advice bank industry to prevent any wrong decision because any mistake can cause a huge fail for them (Sorkin, 2009). According to current scenario, the leadership requirements of bank industry are: High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative Leadership Behaviour 7.1.1. High self-confidence Self-confidence consists various related concepts like self-esteem and self-efficacy. High self-confidence is the exactly thing that high-level leaders in bank sector need in crisis situation. Managers with high-self confidence are more likely to attempt difficult tasks and overcome the crisis situation. Leaders with this feature have more motivation to solve problems Self-confidence is particularly essential for bank leaders to act confident and be decisive in current situation that usually their behaviour is followed carefully with Media and newspaper that it can cause an extra pressure for them(Yuki,2008,p53). There are some disadvantages for high self-confidence such as making rash decision and autocratic.However, being optimistic about the crisis is extremely helpful for bank leaders to overcome the problems. 7.1.2. High energy level and stress tolerance High energy level and stress tolerance help bank leaders to cope with changing situation and long working hours, thus it make it easier to overcome the stressful interpersonal situations like rapid change in economic system, control by Media and government demands. The success key for these leaders to making better decisions is: having high level of energy and stay calm. 7.1.3. Conceptual Skills Generally, conceptual skills consist of good judgment, creativity, intuition, foresight, and the ability to discover meaning and order in uncertain event and crisis situation. Nowadays, bank leaders need to identify complex relationships in economic al environment, creative the best ways to solve the current problems and predict future bank industry events from the current trend. It is essential for bank managers to have enough capability to analysis current issues in the external environment which will impact the bank sector, to identify how different parts of global bank industry related to each other and how changes in one aspect influence the UK banks, and to find new opportunity for bank sector (Yuki, 2008, p63). 7.1.4. Social Intelligence Social Intelligence is the capability to identify the requirements for leadership in special situation. Social perceptiveness prepares the ability to finding the functional demands, drawbacks, and opportunities that related to banks. If a bank manager has high social perceptiveness, he/she can motivate the group to work more effective. Behaviour flexibility helps bank leaders to use different behaviour correctly in crisis, and it is provided by self monitoring from leaders. One important aspect of social intelligence ability is having political skills which are extremely essential in todays bank situation. 7.1.5. Participative Leadership Behaviour Participate Leadership consist of applying different decision procedures that allow other people some influence on leaders decisions. In todays bank situation leaders need to involve other people in their decision particularly by consultation, joint decision and delegation. Bank leaders should try to encourage their colloquies to help them that cause more part of bank involve in the crisis and create a cooperative bank environment as well as help leaders to reduce the number of wrong decisions. If participative leadership behaviour imply correctly now, it can help bank leaders to rebuilt bank structure in the future. 7.2. The Future Bank leadership requirements in the UK In my opinion, current banks crisis will be continuing just for a few more time however, it affects the sector deeply. As it mentioned before, the UK government inject lots of money in the bank industry to prevent many drawbacks, but by doing this British government have more stocks in the bank industry, so the UK banks will be more dependence to the government. As a result of this, the next generation of the British bank leaders will be more selected by government and political environment will influence bank sector widely. The government wants to controls banks more than before and also do not want to loose profit again. Therefore, the United Kingdom government try to change some policies such as restriction on banker bonuses because wants to reduce bankers risk and create safer environment, control bank assets price, and change bank structure. It asked bank leaders to focus on some area like inflation and unemployment in bank industry. So, the future of this sector will be changin g in structure in the next five years in several parts, more autocratic environment by leaders that government selected, and need motivated leaders because of restriction on banking bonuses. As a result of this situation, future requirement for bank leadership are: Power Motivation Achievement Orientation Technical Skills System Thinking 7.2.1. Power Motivation Power motivation define as a ability and power to influence people and events .Managers with personalized power are more likely to create leaders who seek position of authority, aggrandize their-selves and satisfy personal demand for esteem and status. However, socialized power helps leaders to behave more for other peoples benefit .They use this power to influence subordinates, peers, and superiors to build up the bank sector and make it successful. Due to their orientation, these kind of leaders use more participative and coaching style of managerial behaviour, what exactly bank leaders need when they want to re-built the bank structure (Yuki, 2008, p55-56). 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation Achievement orientation consists of need for achievement, willing to assume responsibility, focus on task objective, and drive to success. If bank leaders have high achievement, they will focus on changing sector, solving problems, and high performance objectives. These kinds of managers maybe have lack of delegating and it is a drawback for this feature. However, if they can control it, banks leaders successfully can re-build bank structure and motivate other people to do it as well (Yuki, 2008, p58-60). 7.2.3. Technical Skills Despite the fact that high level manager does not need high level of technical skills, in future of bank industry leaders strongly need to have high technical knowledge about the are that in bank sector should be changed. If they do not have enough information about new policy and regulation they can make several mistakes in their decision that will be effect lower level leadership in their organisation and also they will not be able to show lower managers the current future. Therefore, they need to have enough knowledge about the future bank structure, new rules, management system, required employment characteristics, their new customer demands, and their bank opportunities in new situation. 7.2.4. Systems Thinking Systems thinking is what exactly bank leaders need when they are making effort to change their bank structure in the next five years. Systems thinking help them to identify the changing processes, dealing with new challenges, and improving efficiency. Change in one part of bank structure will affect the other parts as well and it usually has some reaction that maybe destroys the process. Bank leaders should clearly know what will be happen after their new decisions, identify following problems, and be ready to prevent any challenge. 8. Leadership Development In this part, the techniques, methods and other related subject to development the UK bank industry requirement will be discussed. 8.1. Supporting Leadership Development before the Training If we want to have an effective leadership development in the UK bank sector, we need to support our leaders for their training which are particularly important for intermediate level leaders. First of all, an effective development program needs to fully describe for its trainees. Being a bank leader usually requires long-working hours, so their work schedule should be more flexible that managers can attend especially in todays bank work environment. Also, they need to have enough time off for their preparations. Supporting leadership training is more essential in current crisis rather than predicted future situation. Therefore, bank leaders should have some programs that do not need too much preparation or are more flexible. 8.2. Special Techniques for Leadership Training There are varieties of techniques which are suitable for the UK bank leadership training. Some of effectives ones are: Behaviour Role Modelling Case Discussion Business Game and Simulations 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling Behaviour role modelling is one of the most effective methods for managers and it usually combine with demonstration. Trainee can play a especial role for current bank crisis or future changing environment in small group or in front of the class. By playing different roles, bank leaders can get an appropriate feedback about their behaviour, especially if they record their plays. However, there is not enough evidence that measured actual behaviour change back on the job or improvement in managerial effectiveness. Behaviour role modelling can be useful for intermediate bank leaders not for executive ones who usually do not like to attend in this kind of training due to their position. However it can be full of fun and help bank leaders to reduce their stress level in crisis as well as improve their social intelligence, conceptual skills, system thinking, energy-level, and system thinking. Role playing prepare bank leaders to be more judgment about the situation and their decision, creative new solutions, and also identify special bank leadership behaviour style during crisis and for future. 8.2.2. Case Discussion Case discussion can be use in bank environment to develop its leaders analytical and decision-making skills and is suitable for high-level bank leaders. In this technique, managers can discuss about current and future the UK bank industry issues by exchanging their personal experiences. It helps bank leaders to increase their understanding about bank crisis, find the appropriate behaviour, make recommendations for the UK bank scenario, and predict banks future opportunities and threats. So, case discussion can improve bank leaders technical, decision making, power motivating and achievement orientation skills. 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation Business games and simulation help bank leaders to analysis complex bank problems make decision and receive feedback about their decisions. It usually combines with role playing and group problem-solving exercises. Improvement in communication technology make it easier to use virtual meeting between bank leaders in different part of the United Kingdom and even all around the world and generally, it is short time training thus; it saves bank leaders time in current over-crowded bank working environment. Most business games stress on quantities financial information, market conditions, organization chart, and the tasks and responsibility for their positions which are essentially important for bank leaders to correctly understand the British bank sector situation. Finally, with this method, bank leaders can improve their confidence, system thinking, making decisions skills. (Yuki,2008,p430-432). 8.3. Developmental Activities There are several activities which can help bank leaders to learn from their experiences on the job and is so useful for development leadership skills due to being informal, applying by boss or co-workers, and combining with formal activities. These kinds of activities are particularly suitable for current bank situation because they are informal and usually do not take too much time of bank leaders and also give feedback to the leaders thus; according to this feedback bank leaders can improve their skills in short time. However, they have some advantages for predictable bank future as well. Some of these activities that are more appropriate for the UK bank industry are: Multisource Feedback Job Rotation Program Mentoring Executive Coaching Outdoor Challenge Programs Personal Growth Programs 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback Multisource feedback or 360-degree feedback is extremely popular for management development and it normally use to provide leader behaviour feedback in large organizations. Therefore it should be appropriate to apply in the UK bank sector. 360-degree feedback emphasizes board discrepancies among self-rating by leader and what other think about leaders behaviour. In this way, managers are received information about their behaviour or skills from questionnaires who are their subordinates, peers, superior, and clients. A feedback workshop with a facilitator usually is more helpful for enhancing the influence behaviour of bank managers rather than only giving them a feedback report (Barclay, 2007). 360-degree feedback can be valuable in current situation not in the UK banks future because in the future most of the British bank executive leaders are selected by the government and they should be more autocratic and powerful thus, questionnaires normally will be afraid to answer the questions honestly and the feedback will have not enough worth. 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program In job rotation program, bank leaders are given to work in various functional subunits of the bank sector for different period of time from 6 months to 3 years. These changes are for developmental reasons such as facing with new challenge, improving cooperative relationships, dealing with new types of technical problems, and developing a huge network of contacts in different part of bank. Job rotation programs are more appropriate for the future requirement of the UK bank industry, when this sector is trying to rebuild its structure. By doing these programs, high-level bank leaders can clearly understand the new problems in different parts, identify variety of behavioural reaction to the change, create a friendly environment in the whole banking sector which is essentially necessary for the time of change, and exchange their experiences and knowledge. In my opinion, these kind of programs are not suitable for the current bank crisis because bank leaders are under too much pressure from external environment especially Media and newspapers thus, changing their position can increase their personal stress. 8.3.3. Mentoring Mentoring programs are useful to simplify management development in bank industry. During the mentoring programs which are for high-level managers, more experienced leaders help less experienced ones. Mentoring programs are appropriate for both current and future bank requirements. By applying mentoring programs in the UK bank sector, we can reduce leaders stress level, facilitate adjustment to new change, create a stronger banking communication, and rise bank leaders satisfaction (Noe, 1991, p129-173). However, there are some factors in the UK bank industry that maybe reduce the beneficial effects of mentoring programs. For instance, more successful banks leaders can promote their position in bank sector, government or even political community thus; some of them maybe refuse sharing all of their experience with other bank leaders. Furthermore, female leaders usually have more difficulty to find successful mentoring and during bank crisis, these kinds of programs can increase their stress level and it is normally difficult to applying a program by separation between leaders according to their genders. 8.3.4. Executive Coaching Executive coaching has known as a great type of developmental intervention for middle and executive leaders. In this program, bank leaders can have an external or internal consultant. Executive coaching can help bank managers to implement recent and future the UK bank sector change, deal with their new bosses particularly in predicted bank future who are more related the British government, and gain more knowledge and information about new bank policy and structure. In current bank crisis, the decisions are made by bank leaders are so essential and effective for banking sector thus; a consultant can help to bank leaders to make correct decisions as well as reduce their stress level. Despite the fact that executive coaching is convenient, flexible and confidential, the high cost of it and shortage of bank competent coaches result in limitation of applying it (Yuki, 2008, p443). 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs Outdoor challenge programs are one of essential informal programs for bank leaders who are under too much of pressure due to crisis and changing bank environment. Outdoor programs can help bank managers to reduce their stress level, increase their self-control, self-confidence, energy level, and risk taking. However, there are some drawbacks about these programs .First of all, due to long-working hours in bank sector especially in todays situation, leaders need to receive strong support s to change their working hours for a short time. Secondly, because of overwhelming working situation, some bank leaders need to efficiently encourage attending in outdoor programs. 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs After restriction in banker bonuses and crisis, the UK bank leaders need to more improve their self-awareness, emotional and moral level which can be provided by personal growth programs. The programs normally consist of several psychological exercises that help bank managers to find their living and working goals, how human development happens, how bank environment change, and how the role of leadership in bank sector change. Personal growth programs can help bank leaders to improve their emotional level, decrease their stress particularly in current bank crisis, and understand the change that will be occur in the future of the UK bank such as it will have more political environment. However, there is a fear of some negatives effects in bank leadership behaviour because for instance older bank leaders maybe indirectly encourage leaving their stressful jobs and more enjoy their personal life thus; these programs should apply carefully particularly in their subject selections (Yuki,20 08,p445-446). 8.4. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training Having an effective bank leadership development needs some supporting behaviour as well. It is important that leaders can apply their new skills in bank thus; providing an environment that they use their newly learned skills is essential. Also, leaders need to review what they learnt so, we can hold periodic review sessions or ask them to train these new skills to lower positions managers. By doing this, we can spread leadership development skills and behaviours among different part of banks and provide a friendly bank environment to cope with crisis and later changes. Conclusion and Recommendations The UK banking sector has experienced a trouble time recently that lake of leadership behaviour and skills is one important lateral factor to occur. However, by identifying and applying developmental leadership requirements such as participative leadership, system thinking, social intelligence we can cope with current issues and improve bank leaders skills by different training and methods to prevent more problems for the UK banks future. Furthermore, developing and implementing bank leadership requirements require a broad effort from whole the UK bank sector, the British government, bank clients, and also the media and newspapers.

Friday, October 25, 2019

American and Japanese values system Essays -- compare, contrast, compar

Japan and America each have their own value system that draws comparable interest for how it shapes society and patterns of interaction. Even though there are similarities between the two-value systems, it is essential to understand the fundamental differences that deal with equality, respect, and communication style. Understanding the motivations behind behaviors will lead to successful intercultural interactions. Japanese society exhibits a gender base stratification of society. Male dominance over female contributes to upholding norms and expectations of gender specific division of labor. Still prevalent and modeled after by most households in Japan, is that the male is typical salaryman ‘breadwinner’ that provides only the economic means. Meanwhile, the female is the ‘shufu’ or the full house wife is responsible for the household, raising children, and the wellbeing of the husband’s parents. The masculine and feminine speech patterns further refines the gender roles and the gender divide in all domains of society. Masculine speech is vulgar while feminine speech is politer in nuance. Even though the institutions that prevent women from entering into the workforce are changing, it is stigmatize that a woman’s career peck at age 25 and expected to return to the house married with ‘shufu’ responsibilities. ‘Career women’ are marginalized from society for having a higher status in income or education to good for oneself. This contrasts with America’s society of equality. Male and female are encouraged to pursue individual goals and aspirations as competitive equals. The transparency of institutions discourages discrimination and enables women to strive and advance in their careers in the majo... ... pursing happiness by being able to strive for individual achievement and desires. Many Americans would go back to school to seek better skills or degrees in improving the available opportunities in life. Similar in Japan, expectations by parents push their kids into the correct primary schools and later, cram schools, in order to get ahead because of the examination culture. At an early age, these kids learn that self-improvement is the means of avoiding marginalization public and family shame. The fundamental differences between the American and Japanese values system is the difference in individualistic and collectivism tendencies. Both Americans and Japanese see share similarities in time orientation and self-improvement. Understanding the core assumptions of each culture will improve the intercultural interactions and promote a global consciousness.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Garmin

GARMIN – Follow the Leader Garmin Global Positioning System’s (GPS), began as a brainstorming session between a few engineers playing a game of cards and has grown into a global technological phenomenon since its inception in 1989. Starting with only a handful of employees, Garmin has expanded its work force consisting of more than 7000 employees by 2007, all dedicated to the same objective; To create navigation and communication devices that can enrich our customers’ lives. As a group, the decision to choose Garmin was rather easy. We wanted to select a company or product that is relatively new in the consumers’ eye that can provide a distinct need in a market that is not over saturated by competitors. Garmin is considered an innovator in the GPS market and doing a study based on a well known, high quality product, provided interest between our groups. Garmin focuses on embracing lifestyles of their consumers, whether it be Automotive; helping people reach their destination with ease, Marine; supplying essential charts and data, Aviation, Fitness, Outdoor Recreation, to the ever evolving Wireless Smart Phone Applications, first time users quickly realize the cache of having a compact and portable unit, making their journey, wherever it may be more enjoyable. Market Segmentation Garmin is making strong progress in gaining the opportunity to serve a wide range of people in many different situations, whether it be driving across country on vacation, going for hike in a remote Mountain Park, setting Sail on the Pacific Ocean, or even going for a nice bike ride through a park. The diversity of the GPS system has really taken off in the past few years with the advancement of technology, which has really benefited Garmin in targeting â€Å"Whom we serve† Looking at the Segmentation Basis we have reviewed (Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic, and Behavioral) we can determine how Garmin Markets their broad range of products in the open market. Demographic – As a company, Garmin has a fairly broad Demographic Segment because of their multiple products. Garmin would segment its buyers into a non gender bias, over the age of 16, with all family life cycles included, with an average income, focusing on the baby boomers and the Y Generation because of its Technological advancement. Geographic – Garmin markets itself in certain regions around the world. These regions are; North America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Garmin has a process which they call vertical integration, which allows Garmin to maintain a high level of quality and respond more quickly to the ever-changing marketplace. This is especially important in their Company Offices located in Kansas City, USA, Southampton, UK, and Sijhih, Taiwan. Psychographic – When trying to divide itself into different market groups, there are certain classes, lifestyles, and personalities Garmin would generally market. As a Social Class, Middle Class and up would be the main target, Lifestyles – Achievers would be the group that generally uses the Garmin product, due to their ambitious personalities. Behavioural – The behavioural segment basis is probably the most relevant when looking at whom to market their product to. Convenience is a tool that helps Garmin sell their product to provide them with accurate, thorough information, providing customer loyalty and regular use. A Garmin user would have a positive attitude toward the product as it is making there busy lives easier. â€Å"Garmin is a leading, worldwide provider of navigation, communications and information devices, most of which are enabled by Global Positioning System (â€Å"GPS†) technology. Garmin designs, develops, manufactures and markets a diverse family of hand-held, portable and fixed-mount GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communications and information products for the automotive/mobile, outdoor/fitness, marine, and general aviation markets. † – Garmin 2007 Annual Report to Shareholders. This statement proves that the R & D department for Garmin is on the right track, assuring the Shareholders they are targeting the correct markets in today’s world. Garmin has developed a unique style that takes a systematic approach to R&D. This helps them close the innovation gap with its competitors. They have been able to do this by partnering their manufacturing and engineering teams, and integrating their product development teams in a multidisciplinary fashion to work on newly approved designs. Garmin has achieved a market position and a history of consistent growth in revenues and profits by offering ergonomically designed, user friendly products with innovative features and designs covering a range of applications and price points.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Social Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, CONSUMERISM, AND THE MARKETING CONCEPT Robert D. Winsor, Loyola Marymount University ABSTRACT This paper compares the often-criticized â€Å"selling orientation† or â€Å"selling concept† with the commonly-praised â€Å"societal marketing concept â€Å"from the perspectives of consumer rationality and persuasibility. It is suggested that both orientations view consumers as relatively irrational and as easily prone to manipulation by marketers. The implications of this similarity are explored from the perspectives of consumerism and social responsibility. INTRODUCTIONCritics of marketing have consistently attacked the discipline for discounting consumers' intelligence and capacity for rational choice and for deliberately confounding consumers in their efforts to make rational, informed, unbiased, and free economic choices. At the same time, societal trends have pushed U. S. businesses in the direction of increasing concern for social issues and a ttention to long-run consumer welfare. The aforementioned criticisms and pressures for increasing social responsibility are largely driven by the same social paradigms and constituents.Yet, it is noteworthy that the ultimate result of an expanded social responsibility of business is the concomitant diminishment of free consumer choice. Moreover, this obstruction of consumer discretion is the inevitable consequence of presumptions of consumer irrationality. Thus, while groups such as consumerists have often criticized marketers explicitly for rejecting notions of consumer rationality, these same groups and sentiments have forcefully promoted the social responsibility of business and the societal marketing concept as advancements in business thought and practice.As a result, contradictions can be seen to exist within the consumerist agenda, and are apparent (but unacknowledged) in the â€Å"societal marketing concept† and calls for increasing the responsibility of business towa rd social issues and concerns. The goal of this paper is to expose these contradictions and to elaborate upon their implications for business and society in general. THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT In January of 1960, the marketing discipline entered a new age.In this year, we were presented with no ground-breaking theory, no pioneering methodology, no brilliant adaptation of another discipline's construct, and no monumental grant. We were, however, given something we would come to treasure much more highly than any of these. We were provided a raison d'etre and a philosophical foundation. It was on this date that the Journal of Marketing published an article by Robert Keith (1960) entitled â€Å"The Marketing Revolution. And, since its publication, marketers have been able to feel justified in believing that their efforts were not only indispensable, but that they have been instrumental in bringing about sweeping improvements in the evolution of business practice. Although the revolution described by Keith has been tamed to become the â€Å"evolution† of the marketing concept, and the generalizablity of the evolution it described has been questioned by some (e. g. Fullerton, 1988), the transformation in American business described by Keith's model has nonetheless served as a source of explanation and justification for marketing academicians.The â€Å"post-evolution† marketers have been lent a degree of dignity and a sense of purpose which was conspicuously lacking before. Prior to this date, marketers were perceived to be at best superfluous, and at worst dishonest or unscrupulous. Not that the average citizen considers marketing in any different light today, but the belief in an evolution of the marketing concept has allowed the academic marketing community a certain degree of self-respect. In his article, Keith described four â€Å"eras† or periods of thought and practice through which his organization, The Pillsbury Company, pr ogressed.Keith believed that these eras were characteristic of most businesses which were contemporaries of Pillsbury, and thus speculated that an overall movement was in evidence. Since the publication of Keith's article, other writers have modified, refined, and extended the basic thesis advancing this evolutionary process: The most noteworthy and well-known of these descriptions is that of Philip Kotler. Kotler describes five alternative concepts or philosophies through which most businesses have evolved.Although any given business can operate under any of the philosophies, the underlying precept of the evolution thesis is that these philosophies form a hierarchy, with later philosophies being superior to those of earlier eras (Keith, 1960; Kotler, 1994). The implication is that to move from a lower level (earlier) philosophy to that on a higher level (later) is not only insightful, but also good business. The first eras or business philosophies are termed the â€Å"product† and the â€Å"production† concepts.The product concept emphasizes product quality and/or performance, and assumes that at least some consumers are knowledgeable enough to recognize and respect superior attributes in these areas. The production concept focuses upon systems for producing large volumes of products in an effort to drive down costs by exploiting economies of scale. This philosophy is based upon the assumption that most consumers not only recognize, but prefer high value (benefits – price) offerings and are knowledgeable and rational in selecting among alternative products.A later era is known as the selling concept, and is based upon the premise that consumers are relatively uninformed regarding product attributes, or base their selection upon fashion or other â€Å"non-rational† criteria. Moreover, this orientation assumes that consumers are easily influenced. As a result, organizations employing the selling concept typically resort to aggressive selling and promotional efforts, with the goal of seducing or coercing customers into purchasing the product. A considerably higher plane of enlightenment is represented by the marketing concept era.The marketing concept is considered to be a quantum leap up the evolutionary hierarchy, and continues to be embraced by a great number of marketing scholars and businesses. The marketing concept â€Å"holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors† (Kotler, 1994, p. 18; 1977a). The motto of the marketing concept is â€Å"find a need and fill it,† and its credo is â€Å"The Customer is King. Like the product and production concepts, but unlike the selling concept, the marketing concept is founded upon the assumption that consumers are knowledgeable, intelligent, and rational, and base their product purchases upon a c areful consideration of the relationship between their own needs and product attributes. As a result, the fundamental premise of the marketing concept becomes a focus on the consumer as the pivotal point for all business activity (Barksdale and Darden, 1971).The thinking underlying the marketing concept was espoused as early as the 1940's and 1950's (Samli, Palda, and Barker, 1987; Bell and Emory, 1971). In 1958 the term â€Å"marketing concept† was coined to describe the philosophy behind this approach (see McKitterick, 1958), and â€Å"by 1965 practically all introductory marketing texts included some discussion of the ‘new' marketing concept† (Bell & Emory, 197 1). The reason that the marketing concept was considered a major breakthrough in business philosophy is that it represented the antithesis of the product, production, and selling concepts.Rather than taking an existing product and endeavoring to modify demand for it by adding features, reducing price, o r varying promotional technique, the marketing concept holds that businesses should first determine the existing needs in the marketplace and then design and produce a product to satisfy this need. In this sense the marketing concept is driven by the needs of the marketplace, rather than the existing abilities of the firm.The fifth, and supposedly highest stage of evolution in marketing philosophies is what Kotler terms the societal marketing concept. In each of his writings referencing the marketing concept, Kotler (1972, 1977b, 1994) clearly states his belief that the societal marketing concept embodies a higher and more enlightened plane of marketing thought and practice, and suggests that this new concept represents an attempt to harmonize the goals of business to the occasionally conflicting goals of society.As such, it postulates that the â€Å"the organization's task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions mo re effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer's and society's well-being (Kotler, 1994, p. 29). It should be noted that the societal marketing concept is founded upon one dominant and critical proposition.This is the assumption that â€Å"consumers' wants do not always coincide with their long-run interests or society's long-run interests,† and that, given this, marketers should place the â€Å"emphasis on ‘long-run consumer and societal well being† (Kotler, 1977b). As a result, the societal marketing concept represents an endorsement and justification for the social responsibility of business in contemporary society, and a refutation of Milton Friedman's infamous assertion that â€Å"the social responsibility of business is to make a profit† (Friedman, 1962). THE CONSUMERISM MOVEMENT AS THE CATALYST FOR THESOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT The latest consumerism movement is a cause that has been accumulating mom entum for over 30 years in the U. S. , and its disciples assert that all consumers have an inherent right to products which are: safe in use (and even misuse), effective for the use designed, economical, reliable, honestly labeled and advertised, and benign in their impacts upon the environment. Moreover, consumerists have been very proactive in seeing that these â€Å"rights† are guaranteed to individual consumers, either by the firms selling the products, or by the government of this country.Adherents of consumerism tend to believe that businesses are so overwhelmingly motivated by the desire to make a profit that they commonly compromise the quality of the product offerings, thereby jeopardizing the safety of consumers. Consumerists cite examples of this â€Å"greed,† such as the Beech-Nut case involving the sale over 10 years of millions of cases of â€Å"apple juice† which was in reality only sweetened, flavored water (Business Week, 1988).The fact that suc h a large number and variety of these cases exist and continue to be exposed on a regular basis lends a great deal of credibility to the consumerism movement and its underlying assumptions. In explaining the rise of consumerism, Peter Drucker blamed the marketers for failing their consumers and publics in using the marketing concept: We have asked ourselves where in the marketing concept consumerism fits or belongs. I have come to the conclusion that, so far, the only way one can really define it within the total marketing concept is as the shame of the total marketing concept.It is essentially a mark of failure of the concept†¦ (Drucker, 1969) This quote is now famous to marketing practitioners, scholars, and critics alike, and the legitimacy of Drucker's view is generally conceded. In the same year that Drucker made this accusation, Business Week (1969) also asserted that â€Å"In the very broadest sense, consumerism can be defined as the bankruptcy of what the business scho ols have been calling the ‘marketing concept. â€Å"‘ These condemnations of the marketing concept reflected a general assumption within both the business and academic spheres regarding the implications of consumerism's growing popularity.A substantial portion of scholars and managers surveyed in 1971, for example, believed that the rise in consumerism was a direct reflection of the inadequacy of the marketing concept (Barksdale and Darden, 1971). As the presumed response to the failure of the marketing concept, then, the consumerist movement became the foundation for â€Å"a revised marketing concept† which Kotler (1972) proposed as the successor to the â€Å"failed† marketing concept. As in earlier stages of the marketing philosophy evolution, the â€Å"societal marketing concept† was ostensibly constructed upon the ruins of its immediate predecessor.Since the most recent consumerist movement in the U. S. served as the catalyst for today's concept ualization and implementation of the societal marketing concept, it would seem important to understand the modern origins of this movement. ORIGINS OF THE MODERN CONSUMERISM MOVEMENT Writing in 1987, the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide described one car as â€Å"perhaps the most sophisticated (certainly one of the most ambitious) cars ever to come from Detroit† (Langworth and Robson, 1987, p. 51). These authors went on to proclaim that these were â€Å"the kind of cars we should have had in the 1970's, and didn't. The car was the Chevrolet Corvair of the 1960's, and its conspicuous absence in the 1970's was the direct result of what many consider to be both consumerism's explosive postwar debut and also its finest hour. Indeed, the tomb of the Corvair became the foundation of consumerism as we know it today. While business historian's (e. g. , Halberstam, 1986) are eager to criticize Detroit's apparent indifference and ineptitude regarding the 1970's invasion of small, econom ical automobiles from foreign countries and the oil crisis which precipitated this invasion, this blame has been clearly misplaced and undeserved.In 1959, General Motors, acknowledging an existing need in the marketplace for a small, inexpensive, sporty, and fuel-efficient automobile, designed and marketed a vehicle to fill this need. This automobile, the Corvair, was indeed revolutionary in many respects, having four-wheel independent suspension, a rear-mounted air-cooled six-cylinder engine, the option of turbo-charging (a first), and an exhaust system design which would be used on a majority of automobiles for years to come.Both the Corvair and its functional, but considerably more primitive predecessor, the Volkswagen Beetle, were designed, built, and marketed with the highest regard for the marketing concept–offering lower-income consumers the opportunity to own an economical, reliable, and fun-todrive automobile. Both cars were strong sellers, and appeared to satisfy a number of preexisting needs in the marketplace. In 1960, Consumer Reports praised the Volkswagen for its good workmanship, and handling and roadability which were â€Å"well ahead of the U.S. average†. Additionally, about the worst thing that Consumer Reports could find to say about the Corvair was a remark about its â€Å"unimpressive trim quality† (cf. Abernathy, Clark, and Kantrow, 1983). Unfortunately for many consumers, Ralph Nader would use these cars as a catapult for his career, and in so doing, would become synonymous with the consumerism movement. In 1965 he wrote a book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed, in which he criticized General Motors as being irresponsible, greedy, and unconcerned for the public's safety.Nader used the Corvair as the book's primary example, developing an elaborate, scathing, but also relatively misplaced criticism of the Corvair. Due to the negative publicity which the book generated, the book dealt a death blow to the Corvair, which imme diately began a downward sales spiral toward its eventual extinction in 1969. Inspired by the â€Å"success† of Unsafe at Any Speed, an equivalently brutal and faulty criticism of the Volkswagen Beetle was written in 1971 by a colleague and ally of Nader, and was entitled Small—On Safety (Dodge, 197 1).Since, by the time of this book's publication, millions of Volkswagens were on the road and were well-regarded as providing reliable, economical, and serviceable transportation, the book failed to achieve any credibility, and did little harm to Volkswagen's sales. What should have been evident to readers of either book and to consumers in general, but was perhaps not appreciated until much later, was that it was physically impossible to construct a small economy car which was as safe as the leviathan Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Chryslers of the same period.Had a well-designed car such as the Honda Civic (or any other contemporary compact automobile) been introduced into the market in the 1960's, it too would have certainly been labeled as unsafe, and forced off the market. THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT AND THEORY X The societal marketing concept is largely congruent with the â€Å"multiple constituency model of organizations† (Kimery and Rinehart, 1998), and general notions of the responsibility or obligation of businesses to social and environmental stakeholders.Contrasted to the marketing concept or orientation, which posits the direct and simple relationship between organizational profitability and responsiveness to customer needs and concerns, the societal marketing concept or multiple constituency model suggests that success is highly dependent upon an organization's attentiveness to all constituencies simultaneously (Kimery and Rinehart, 1998). Yet due to the common opposition between immediate consumer needs and long-term societal and individual needs, the simultaneous â€Å"satisfaction† of all of these demands is frequently dif ficult if not impossible.Moreover, the focus upon â€Å"un-stated† or long-term customer needs and a concomitant discounting of stated consumer desires have distinct overtones of corporate or governmental paternalism and the assumptions of producer or governmental sovereignty, which this perspective necessarily implies. In short, where the marketing concept is the economic equivalent of the democratic process, the societal marketing concept is antithetical to the tenets of democratic equality and more comparable to economic fascism.In an eloquent paper outlining the conceptual foundations of his societal marketing concept, Kotler adapted Douglas McGregor's managerial â€Å"Theory X / Theory Y† to illustrate alternative perspectives of customers (Kotler, 1977b). According to McGregor, Theory X managers view their employees as being lazy, ignorant, gullible, suspicious, and disloyal. In contrast, Theory Y managers view their employees as informed, intelligent, motivated, unique, and rational (McGregor, 1957, 1985).In his adaptation, Kotler makes the assertion that businesses subscribing to the philosophy embodied within the societal marketing concept make assumptions about their customers which are consistent with Theory Y (as opposed to Theory X). In other words, Kotler believes that the societal marketing concept is philosophically consonant with a perspective of the consumer as informed, intelligent, and rational, suggesting the higher plane of enlightenment shared by adopters of this concept and alluding to the concept's supposed capacity for consumer empowerment.Although Kotler makes a valuable contribution in adapting this managerial framework to the marketing discipline, he grossly errs in his interpretation. A far more plausible observation is that the societal marketing concept is solidly built upon Theory X assumptions about consumers on the part of the marketer. According to Kotler (1977b), â€Å"societal marketers are more attuned to t he buyers' unexpressed needs than overexpressed wants,† and place an emphasis upon â€Å"long-run consumer and societal well being. Because of this, the societal marketing concept clearly forces or compels marketers to make judgments about what is â€Å"best† for consumers, and what needs are valid (as opposed to those that are spurious or unwholesome). It is in this way that the societal marketing concept becomes the ultimate subscriber and underwriter to the Theory X mentality. The conceptual foundation of the societal marketing concept (as well as of the consumerism movement) rests eavily upon the belief that the individual consumer is unable to â€Å"look out for him/herself,† is gullible, ignorant, easily misled, does not know what is actually in his/her own best interest, and thus needs to be protected from powerful and unscrupulous marketers. In this way, the belief that the role of the marketer is to interpret what is â€Å"best† for society and i ndividuals necessitates the assumption that individuals do not and cannot know what is best for themselves. Nor is this an overstatement of the societal marketing concept's goals and assumptions.Bell and Emory (1971, p. 40), proponents of this concept, assert that â€Å"The typical consumer is at such a disadvantage that he cannot assure his own effectiveness. Business has the responsibility to help him, and if business fails then the government or other parties must act on the consumer's behalf. † In addition, in circumstances â€Å"where the buyer is unwilling or unable to make rational decisions,† Bell and Emory believe that â€Å"It is the duty of business to promote proper consumption values† (Bell & Emory, 197 1, p. 40, emphasis added).Yet these are precisely the â€Å"paternalistic† attitudes which characterize the Theory X â€Å"manager† according to McGregor. The fact that some consumers may choose to buy a subcompact automobile because th ey prefer economy over a certain degree of safety, or that some choose to subsist on McDonald's hamburgers, fries and milkshakes despite their â€Å"unhealthfullness† does not imply that these individuals are stupid, or gullible, or that they need to be â€Å"enlightened† by consumerism or societal marketing techniques, This is in fact the precise point at which the â€Å"evolution† of the marketing concept breaks down.The marketing concept holds that marketers should strive to supply products for every consumer need, provided these needs are not grossly threatening to society, and that â€Å"any decision the customer makes to serve his own perceived selfinterest is rational† (Bauer & Greyser, 1967). It is thus impossible to interpret the societal marketing concept as anything but a move backward into the period where the selling concept ruled–where consumers were â€Å"ignorant,† â€Å"irrational,† and easily anipulated by more insig htful marketers. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS While consumerists and other critics of the selling concept regularly and loudly chastise business organizations for employing marketing strategies and campaigns which are ostensibly based upon assumptions of consumer ignorance and irrationality, these same guardians of consumer interest are typically synonymous with those pushing organizations most forcefully into programs of social responsibility and the societal marketing concept.Yet, as noted above, the agenda of social responsibility in business is clearly based upon assumptions of equal (or even greater) degrees of consumer ignorance and irrationality. Disciples of the societal marketing concept appear to be largely oblivious to the relatively absurd levels that businesses have been pushed by forces in concert with their agenda. (Witness the warning on McDonald's coffee cups: â€Å"Caution: HOT! . . . CAUTION: CONTENTS HOT! †¦ Caution: HOT! . . . Caution: HOT! . . . WARNING: HOT! †¦ /! .. † which are combined with a corollary reduction in the temperature of the liquid itself — actions which were necessitated by the infamous multimillion dollar legal claim against the company — a lawsuit which was applauded by numerous consumerist groups. ) But, as Levitt noted in 1958, â€Å"self-conscious dedication to social responsibility may have started as a purely defensive maneuver against strident attacks on big corporations and on the moral efficacy of the profit system. But defense alone no longer explains the motive. The motive for corporate social responsibility and the overwhelming push for social responsibility in the pursuit of sales now arises out of the industrial sector's near-total dependence on social trends and the sentiment of a minority of consumers. Corporations that have been beaten into submission by frivolous lawsuits and that are afraid to arouse consumerist accusations of indifference have been forced to pander to t he lowest common denominator of consumer passivity, ignorance, and laziness.As predicted by McGregor, these Theory X attitudes and actions have subsequently bred and reinforced the very passivity, ignorance, and laziness in consumers they were designed to anticipate and amend. Ironically, the similarities between the selling concept and the societal marketing concept regarding their shared assumption of consumer ignorance can be seen as forming the perfect foundation for either societal altruism or, alternatively, opportunistic exploitation.In many cases, these efforts can be difficult to distinguish from one another, and apparent acts of altruism or social responsibility can provide the perfect camouflage for exploitation. Because organizations are rapidly becoming aware of the power of â€Å"greenconsumers,† for example, there is a significant temptation to advance this agenda through the marketing program as a powerful device for cultivating customer loyalty and anesthetiz ing consumer prudence and vigilance.As Kotler (1994, p. 30) notes, â€Å"a number of companies have achieved notable sales and profit gains through adopting and practicing the societal marketing concept. † One of the two shining examples Kotler cites is The Body Shop, started by Anita Roddick in 1976. This organization has experienced phenomenal sales growth by actively promoting its products as all-natural, environmentally friendly, and non-animal-tested, and its business practices as sociallyconcerned.Moreover, Roddick has frequently and publicly ridiculed other cosmetics companies, noting that they are â€Å"run by men who create needs that don't exist† (Zinn, 1991). Indeed, The Body Shop became in the 1980's the prototype that all â€Å"earth-friendly† businesses would seek to emulate. As the vanguard of social responsibility, The Body Shop and its founder became the beneficiary of huge volumes of positive publicity, international acclaim, and consumer goodw ill.Yet recent explorations into The Body Shop's products and business practices have found elements which yield a stark contrast to the public images and perceptions noted above. Products of the company have been found to be largely petrochemical-based and of relatively poor-quality, and a large proportion of them have been tested on animals. In addition, the â€Å"socially-enlightened† business practices of this company have been exposed as creative public relations efforts, and the FTC has nvestigated the firm for fraudulent business dealings (Entine, 1993; Buszka, 1997). Clearly, it must inevitably be those organizations which are encouraged to view their consumers as ignorant or irrational that can and will most easily extend that notion to discover opportunities for exploiting that ignorance and irrationality. It is for this reason that those espousing the societal marketing concept and the social responsibility of business can be seen as the greatest danger to consumer sovereignty and consumer welfare.As Lord Acton observed, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yet it is a corollary rule that in reducing one individual's power, all others with whom that person deals have their relative power increased. By forcing consumers into the roles of ignorant, helpless, and mindless children in need of protection and corporate welfare, advocates of the societal marketing concept have liberated consumers from both responsibility and power, and have concomitantly made business more powerful. REFERENCES Abernathy, W. Clark, and Kantrow (1983), Industrial Renaissance; Producing a Competitive Future for America, New York: Basic Books. Bauer, R. and S. Greyser (1967), â€Å"The Dialogue That Never Happens,† Harvard Business Review, (November-December), 186-190. Barksdale, Hiram C. and Bill Darden (1971), â€Å"Marketers' Attitudes Toward the Marketing Concept,† Journal of Marketing, 35 (October), 28-36. Bell, M. and W. Emory (197 1), â€Å"The Faltering Marketing Concept,† Journal of Marketing 35, (October), (37-42). Business Week (1969), â€Å"Business Responds to Consumerism,† September 6, 95.Business Week (1988), â€Å"What Led Beech-Nut Down the Road to Disgrace,† February 2, 124-127. Buszka, Sharlene (1997), â€Å"A Case of Greewashing: The Body Shop,† in Proceedings of the Association of Management and the International Association of Management l5th Annual International Conference, Organizational Management Division, Volume 15, Number 1, 199-294. Dodge, Lowell (1972), Small–On Safety: The Designed-In Dangers of the Volkswagen, New York: Grossman. Drucker, P. (1958), â€Å"Marketing and Economic Development,† Journal of Marketing, (January), (252-259). _________(1969), Consumerism: The Opportunity of Marketing,† address before the National Association of Manufacturers, New York, April 10, later printed as â€Å"The Shame of Marketing,† Marketing Co mmunications, August, 1969, 60. Entine, Jon (1994), â€Å"Shattered Image: Is the Body Shop Too Good to Be True? † Business Ethics, (September/October). Friedman, Milton (1962), Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Fullerton, Ronald A. (1988), â€Å"How Modern is Modern Marketing? Marketing's Evolution and the Myth of the ‘Production Era,'† Journal of Marketing, 52 (January), 108-125.Halberstam, David (1986), The Reckoning, New York: Avon Books. Keith, R. (1960), â€Å"The Marketing Revolution,† Journal of Marketing, 24(January), 35-3 8. Klein, T. (1979), â€Å"Contemporary Problems, Marketing Theory, and Futures Research,† in Conceptual and Theoretical Developments in Marketing: AMA Proceedings, 258-263. Kimery, Kathryn M. and Shelley M. Rinehart (1998), â€Å"Markets and Constituencies: An Alternative View of the Marketing Concept,† Journal of Business Research, 43, 117-124. Kotler, P. (1977a), â€Å"From Sales Obs ession to Marketing Effectiveness,† Harvard Business Review (November-December), 67-75. _______(1972), â€Å"What Consumerism Means for Marketers,† Harvard Business Review, (May-June), 48-57. ________(1977b), â€Å"Considerations In a Theory of Humanistic Marketing,† Working Paper, Graduate School Of Management, Northwestern University. ________(1994), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, eighth edition, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. ________, and S. Levy, (1969), â€Å"Broadening the Concept of Marketing,† Journal of Marketing, (January), 10-15. Langworth, Richard M. nd Graham Robson (1987), The Complete Book of Collectible Cars, 1930-1980, New York: Beekman House. Levitt, T. (1958), â€Å"The Dangers of Social Responsibility,† Harvard Business Review, 36, 5(September-October), 41-50. _______(1960), â€Å"Marketing Myopia,† Harvard Business Review, (July-August). _______(1977), â€Å"Marketing When Thin gs Change,† Journal of Marketing, (NovemberDecember), 107-113. McGregor, D. (1957), â€Å"The Human Side of Enterprise,† Management Review (November), 22-28. McGregor, D. (1985), The Human Side of Enterprise, New York: McGraw-Hill.McKitterick, J. (1958), â€Å"What is the Marketing Management Concept? † in The Frontiers of Marketing Thought and Science, Chicago: American Marketing Association, 71-82. Nader, Ralph (1965), Unsafe At Any Speed: The Designed In Dangers of the American Automobile, New York: Grossman. Samli, A. , K. Palda, and A. Barker (1987), â€Å"Toward a Mature Marketing Concept,† Sloan Management Review (Winter), 45-5 1. Zinn, Laura (1991), â€Å"Whales, Human Rights, Rain Forests — And the Heady Smell of Profits,† Business Week, July 15, 114-115.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

NASA on Watch for Killer Asteroids

NASA on Watch for Killer Asteroids While NASA astronomers said the chances of the 1.2-mile-wide (2 km) asteroid called 2002 NT7 actually hitting the Earth on Feb. 1, 2019, are slim, they are still watching it and other orbiting doomsday rocks very closely. Detecting and Tracking Dangerous Asteroids While given less than a one in 250,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth, scientists at NASAs Near Earth Object (NEO) program have no intention of turning their backs on any of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered so far. Using the Sentry System developed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NEO observers continually scan the most current asteroid catalog to identify those objects with the greatest potential to hit the Earth over the next 100 years. These most threatening asteroids are cataloged in the Current Impact Risks database. To each near-Earth approaching object, NEO assigns a risk of impact factor based on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale. According to the ten-point Torino scale, a rating of zero indicates the event has no likely consequences. A Torino Scale rating of 1 indicates an event that merits careful monitoring. Even higher ratings indicate that progressively more concern is warranted. To further study near-Earth orbiting objects, their potential threats, and ways in which they may be prevented from impacting the Earth, NASA is currently undertaking this fascinating group of Spacecraft Missions to Asteroids. For professional and amateur asteroid trackers, JPLs Solar System Dynamics Group provides this handy set of software tools. Protecting Earth from Asteroid Strikes Calling them the only major natural hazard that we can effectively protect ourselves against, NASA has suggested two possible methods of protecting the Earth from an asteroid or comet determined to be on a collision course. Destroying the object before it hits the EarthDeflecting the object from its orbit before it hits the Earth To destroy the Earth-approaching object, astronauts would land a spacecraft on the surface of the object and use drills to bury nuclear bombs deep below its surface. Once the astronauts were a safe distance away, the bomb would be detonated, blowing the object to pieces. Drawbacks to this approach include the difficulty and danger of the mission itself and the fact that many of the resulting asteroid fragments might still hit the Earth, resulting in massive damage and loss of life. In the deflection approach, powerful nuclear bombs would be exploded up to half a mile away from the object. The radiation created by the blast would cause a thin layer of the  object on the side nearest the explosion to vaporize and fly into space. The force of this material blasting into space would nudge or recoil the object in the opposite direction just enough to alter its orbit, causing it to miss the Earth. The nuclear weapons needed for the deflection method could be launched into position well in advance of the objects projected Earth impact. Best Defense is Adequate Warning While these and other methods of protection have been considered, no definite plans have been fully developed. Scientists of the Asteroid and Comet Impact division of NASAs Ames Research Center warn that at least ten years will be needed to send a spacecraft to intercept an incoming object and deflect or destroy it. To that end, scientists say, NEOs mission of detecting threatening objects is critical to survival. In the absence of active defense, warning of the time and place of an impact would at least allow us to store food and supplies and to evacuate regions near ground zero where damage would be the greatest, says NASA. What is the Government Doing About This? In 1993 and again in 1998, Congressional hearings were held to study the impact hazard. As a result, both NASA and the Air Force are now supporting programs to discover Earth-threatening objects. Congress currently budgets only about $3 million per year for programs like the Near Earth Object (NEO) project. While other governments have expressed concern about the impact hazard, none have yet funded any extensive surveys or related defense research. That Was Close! According to NASA, a soccer field-sized asteroid came within a mere 75,000 miles of Earth in June  2002. Missing us by less than one-third of the distance to the moon, the asteroids approach was the closest ever recorded by an object of its size.

Monday, October 21, 2019

8 things you dont have to do in your 20s

8 things you dont have to do in your 20s Most twentysomethings are constantly surrounded by the perfection presented on social media. Everyone seems to have the wildest nights out, the sweetest vacations, a beautiful family, and the most fulfilling job. It’s enough to make anyone feel lacking. But online life is not the same as real life- it paints a sanitized picture of the messiness of the twentysomething experience. Afraid that if you don’t have it â€Å"all figured out† yet? Don’t be. Here are a bunch of things you don’t even need to worry about until much later in your life and your career.1. Travel the worldSure, you’re supposed to have started your own successful company and figured out how to work remotely while traveling the world, all within 5 years of graduation. But travel costs money- and lots of it. Jetsetting off to Europe isn’t something most people in their 20s can do. If your buddies are able to, they’re very lucky. It’s completely normal if yo u need to spend all you make on, you know, rent and food.  If travel is a priority for you, you’ll make it happen one day. Don’t worry that you’re not there yet.2. Find your dream jobNobody really wants anything but their dream job, but most of us have to start somewhere- and that somewhere is usually the bottom rung of the ladder. If you’re still not where you want to end up, don’t fret. You still have most of your career ahead of you. And keep in mind that things will likely change once you have more world experience: what was once your dream career might not still be your dream career next year.3. Draft a long-term planIt’s helpful to always have a few thoughts as to your 5-, 10-, and 25-year plans. But please don’t set these in stone or feel that if you deviate from your track, you’re doomed to fail. You don’t have to have your career laid out or know where you’re going to settle down and buy a house in a go od school district. There is plenty of time for that.4. Start your own businessWe all hear so much chatter about entrepreneurship and striking out on your own in the new economy, but it’s okay if you don’t have a plan yet- or even if you would rather not be your own boss. If the thought appeals to you, keep weighing it in your mind, but don’t worry that you don’t yet have the answer.5. Figure out your future work/life balanceAs long as you’re taking care of yourself and have a reasonable work/life balance now, then it’s okay if you’re not sure how that will end up looking once you settle down and have kids and a family and move to your forever home and, yes, maybe, travel the world. You’ll figure that out when you get there.6. Determine your true passionYou’ve really only just started out. Your 20s should be a time of exploration! If you’re still figuring out what you really want to be when you grow up- as long as you’re thinking about it seriously- then it’s fine not to have the answers yet.7. Save a huge amount for retirementOf course, you should have a handle on your current budget, paying for your necessities, and socking at least a little bit away in savings. But don’t worry if your entire future and financial security isn’t mapped out perfectly. These things take time, and so much can change in the next five to ten years. Relax and focus on making smart financial decisions now so you’ll be in a good place for the future.8.  Establish the perfect lifeThere’s still time to learn how to cook gourmet dinners and buy a vacation home in the Hamptons. There’s still time to take up new hobbies and start a family. Keep dreaming about what you want the most and go after it. But don’t worry that you don’t have it all yet. You’re still very young!

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Capital Allocation Competency on Business

This study has highlighted the marketing behaviour of Wesfarmers Limited. In this connection, this study has highlighted stakeholder’s perceptions regarding the performance of the organisation. In addition, this study has provided the reputation, mission and corporate service responsibility of Wesfarmers. On the other hand, in this study the annual ranking of Wesfarmers would be mentioned. This study has also identified the stakeholders of the organisation. The business objectives of Wesfarmers would be discussed in this connection.   In this section, Wesfarmers Limited is a renowned Australian conglomerate and the head quarter is in Western Australia. Wesfarmers is famous for its retailing business. In addition, Wesfarmers is also famous for the production of chemicals, fertilisers, coal mining and other safety products. As opined by Ohata & Kumar (2012), it can be mentioned that Wesfarmers has earned highest revenue in the year of 2015 within the industry. Wesfarmers has earned AUS$ 62.7 billion revenue. Moreover, it can be added that Wesfarmers overtook it’s rival Woolworths Limited. The number of employees in this organisation is approximately 205000 and therefore, it can be identified that Wesfarmers is the largest private organisation of Australia. On the other hand, it can be mentioned that the number of shareholders of Wesfarmers are approximately 530,000. Wesfarmers cooperative limited was developed in the year of 1914 as a cooperative organisation. In the year of 1919, more than 65 cooperative org anisations were treated as the agents of Westralian farmers association. On the other hand, it can be stated that after becoming a renowned public organisation, Wesfarmers has aimed to acquire other businesses. In this context, Wesfarmers has acquired Coles group, departmental stores, Kmart automobile organisations, chemical, energy and the fertilisers companies. In the words of Arrfelt et al., (2015), the objectives of Wesfarmers can be discussed briefly in the following: This study also highlights the mission statement of Wesfarmers. In this connection, Haar & White (2013) opined that Wesfarmers aimed to deliver a satisfactory return to the organisational shareholders. Moreover, it can be stated that Wesfarmers has aimed to develop and maintain a disciplined business culture. Furthermore, it can be mentioned that Wesfarmers has focused on four core values such as openness, integrity, boldness and accountability, with refer to the appendix 1. As per the concept of integrity, Wesfarmers tried to do right thing, whereas the openness mission is helpful to work together as one team. The boldness mission highlighted that Wesfarmers always aimed to improve their business performance to earn more revenue compared to it’s competitors.   The accountability factor aimed to the cost structure of the organisation. Mehta & Gupta (2014) added that Wesfarmers aimed to follow end to end relationship with the stakeholders and aimed to manage each of the phase of partner’s work wear cycle. Wesfarmers group has also aimed to the entire systems and processes to meet the organisational passion for the business. According to Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths (2014), it can be mentioned that Wesfarmers is at thirteenth position as per the ranking of corporate reputation index of 2015. The shares of Wesfarmers Limited are higher by 1%. On the contrary, Jia et al., (2014) argued that over the last 12 months the performance of Wesfarmers is not at all impressive along with the gaining of the share price by 3.6%, compared to the 8.1% gain in the index. As per the review, it can be added that the retail market offer the investors of the organisation a steadier growth profile. Therefore, it can be opined that the return on earnings from the business has increased. As a result, the overall profitability of the organisation would be increased (Wesfarmers.com.au). As per the statement of Kim, Lee & Prideaux (2014), it can be stated that Wesfarmers used to listen and understand the necessity and requirements of the stakeholders in order to make the business of the organisation successful. This stud has identified the employees, consumers, shareholders, suppliers, media, government and the non government organisations as the stakeholders of the company. As per the recent study, it can be noticed that Wesfarmers has employed 220000 people in the year of 2016. Cosby (2014) mentioned that the employees of Wesfarmers seek to be a part of the decision making procedure and provide their valuable review, which would be helpful for the business restructuring. The organisation has also aimed to receive feedback from the employees to improve the performance of the organisation. In this connection, the whistle blower process is benefitted to receive the reviews of the subordinates annually (Ellinger et al., 2012). Wesfarmers always tried to communicate with it’s consumers in order to identify the satisfaction of them. In this connection, the organisation has tried to contact with them through emails, letters, telephones and also trough official websites. After collecting the information and consumers’ feedback, the management supervise the feedback of the consumers based on the collected information. The main issue, which the shareholders of Wesfarmers increased, is connected with the balance sheet and the industrial competitiveness. This would be helpful to operate the dividend policy and portfolio management. Wesfarmers aimed to maintain a long term relation with the suppliers. In this context, Shen et al., (2013) cited that the long term business sustainability would be improved. Wesfarmers is able to return the investment of the suppliers from the business. With refer to the appendix 2, the seven dimensions of corporate culture figure depicted that corporate competency is helpful to analyse the connection between the corporate communication strategy, organisational stakeholders’ position and the performance of the organisation. In the point of Killingsworth & Flynn (2016), it can be mentioned that although there are some small inconsistencies within the model, these minor shortcomings would be reflected in case of the application of seven dimensions of corporate personality scale. On the other hand, it can be added that this corporate connection can be discussed with the help of seven following dimensions, which are benefitted to achieve the mission and the vision statement of an organisation. As per the concept of agreeableness, it can be mentioned that agreeableness is depending upon four dimensions such as social justice, sustainability, and openness and employee engagement. Wesfarmers has aimed to maintain the open arm business culture and follow the corporate social responsibility to improve the business performance and also increase the satisfaction level of the consumers. In this context, Ohata & Kumar (2012) opined that the Wesfarmers also looking for the product innovation in order to improve the performance of the organisation. In addition, the organisation has planned to implement strategic plans to achieve the objectives of the organisation. Core competencies are helpful to develop the organisational strategic management. Strategic development would in turn help Wesfarmers to set the business goals. In addition, it can be mentioned that knowledge would provide the managers of the organisation relevant information. This information is required to recognise the opportunities within the business environment. In the words of Haar & White (2013), this dimension is able to control the inward looking, aggressive and the arrogant corporate personality of Wesfarmers. In this purpose, the managers of Wesfarmers need to monitor the performance of the employees significantly. With the help of this dimension, Wesfarmers would be able to overcome the challenging situation in the business. As opined by Mehta & Gupta (2014), it can be mentioned that the management of an organisation can maintain a stronger relationship with the external stakeholders. This dimension of corporate characteristics refers that Wesfarmers only recruited the efficient and skilled employees. Moreover, it can be added that the employees, who have experiences in this field get the opportunity to recruit. The performance of the skilled employees would in turn increase the overall productivity of the organisation. In order to develop the corporate communication strategies of Wesfarmers, this study has mentioned some relevant approaches. It is necessary to achieve the organisation’s goal to meet the business objectives. According to Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths (2014), these corporation strategies can increase the reputation of the organisation. In this purpose, Wesfarmers could improve the relationship with the stakeholders. The stakeholders also will willing to maintain a long term relationship with the organisation. Moreover, the corporate competencies are aimed to implement product innovation strategy in order to improve the business strategy. Therefore, it can be inferred that core competencies of the business would be increased. In addition, Cosby (2014) mentioned that it is necessary to develop the trust of the stakeholders. This is also important to make a business successful. On the other hand, it can be mentioned that Wesfarmers requires to improve the brand image and the brand valuation. This would increase the consumer purchase intentions and consumer loyalty. The consumers also would like to purchase goods from the organisation. Therefore, it can be inferred that the revenue earning by the organisation would be increased. This would in turn increase the profitability statement of the organisation. The business by the organisation would be expanded in the global market. On the other hand, Killingsworth & Flynn (2016) cited that based on the SWOT analysis, the strength and weakness of the organisation would be identified. This would in turn help the organisation to improve the performance by identifying the shortcomings in their performance. Therefore, these approaches can significantly improve the performance of Wesfarmers. After analysing the overall study, it can be recommended that seven dimension of competency is required to implement within the organisation. This can effectively increase the performance of an organisation. Moreover, it can be stated that the organisation also requires to follow corporate social responsibility program to achieve the business objectives. The performance of the organisation would be successful. This study has highlighted the importance of corporate communication. In this context, this study has described the background of the organisation. In addition, this study has mentioned the position of Wesfarmers as per the RepTrak review. This highlights the financial performance of the organisation. On the other hand, this study is important to identify the stakeholders of the organisation and how they reflect the business of the company. The mission and the vision statement of Wesfarmers has described in this connection. In this study, the importance of seven dimensions of corporate competency has discussed which has enhanced the essence of the study. Arrfelt, M., Wiseman, R. M., McNamara, G., & Hult, G. T. M. (2015). Examining a key corporate role: The influence of capital allocation competency on business unit performance.  Strategic Management Journal,  36(7), 1017-1034. Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014).  Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. Buniamin, S., Johari, N. H., Rahman, N. R. A., & Rauf, F. H. A. (2012). Board diversity and discretionary accruals of the Top 100 Malaysia corporate governance (MCG) index company.  African Journal of Business Management,  6(29), 8496. Cosby, D. M. (2014). Sustainability Program Leadership for Human Resource Development Professionals: A Competency Model.  Journal of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict,  18(2), 79. Ellinger, A., Shin, H., Magnus Northington, W., Adams, F. G., Hofman, D., & O'Marah, K. (2012). The influence of supply chain management competency on customer satisfaction and shareholder value.  Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,  17(3), 249-262. Haar, J. M., & White, B. J. (2013). Corporate entrepreneurship and information technology towards employee retention: a study of New Zealand firms.  Human Resource Management Journal,  23(1), 109-125. Home. (2016).  Wesfarmers.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2016, from https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/ Hsu, C. C., Tan, K. C., Jayaram, J., & Laosirihongthong, T. (2014). Corporate entrepreneurship, operations core competency and innovation in emerging economies.  International Journal of Production Research,  52(18), 5467-5483. Jia, J., Wang, G., Zhao, X. N., & Yu, X. (2014). Exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and corporate performance: The role of competency of executives in entrepreneurial-oriented corporations.  Nankai Business Review International,  5(3), 326-344. Killingsworth, C., & Flynn, T. (2016). Assessing the CPRS Pathways to the Profession competency framework: Perspectives on corporate communication leadership competencies and credentials.  Corporate Communications: An International Journal,  21(2), 177-194. Kim, S. S., Lee, J., & Prideaux, B. (2014). Effect of celebrity endorsement on tourists’ perception of corporate image, corporate credibility and corporate loyalty.  International Journal of Hospitality Management,  37, 131-145. Lawson, R. A., Blocher, E. J., Brewer, P. C., Cokins, G., Sorensen, J. E., Stout, D. E., ... & Wouters, M. J. (2013). Focusing accounting curricula on students' long-run careers: Recommendations for an integrated competency-based framework for accounting education.  Issues in Accounting Education,  29(2), 295-317. Mehta, C., & Gupta, P. (2014). Corporate entrepreneurship: a study on entrepreneurial personality of employees.  Global Journal of Finance and Management,  6(4), 305-312. Ohata, M., & Kumar, A. (2012). Big data: a boon to business intelligence.  Financial Executive,  28(7), 63-65. Shen, C. H., Chou, C. M., Hsiao, H. C., & Lee, Y. J. (2013). Analysis of Core Competency Required for the Managerial Work Force of Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan.  Journal of Software Engineering and Applications,  6(03), 111.

Friday, October 18, 2019

China in the World Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

China in the World Economics - Essay Example So what can be the consequences of such a hard-core optimism Can China really beat the rest of the world economic and political superpowers The vast size is alluring. The power it can assimilate is thus threatening too. From being the largest coal producer in the world, along with things like cement and steel, China is one of the major contributor in cost cutting and low cost manufactured things that find their way almost everywhere in the world, like Wal-Mart. It is also the second largest consumer of energy in the world and thus the third largest importer of oil. One of the second largest holders of foreign-exchange reserves in dollars, China seems like the future of 21st century. WTO report on China demonstrated that it would supposedly produce more than half the world's textiles by the end of the decade.1 The CNN report also says that China: "has a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, it is an acknowledged nuclear power and it is one of only three nations capable of independently launching humans into space." China is undoubtedly a US rival and after the consecutive militant and destructive wars it has waged has paved the path for China a little too easily. The inward-looking communist state was opened up to Western economy and capitalist agenda when the 1970 US foreign policy included such an economic rapprochement with Mao Zedong. Thus it helped US in obtaining a pro-alliance support against the Soviet Union, who was their immediate problem then in 1972. Shanghai has now become one of the largest economic hub of China and extreme development is taking place everywhere at a speed rate that is quite not comfortable for other actors in the internatio nal system. The massive reserve for cheap labor is one of the many advantages of countries like China, and especially for China, who can have both labor and high skilled intellectuals at a very large quantity. China's industrialization is thus being driven from home but with the help of international actors like transnational corporations. They are outsourcing to China and exporting from there too, thereby increasing import. Bound up with the growth of mammoth discount retailers in Western markets, that are driving business like crazy particularly in the US, China is getting all the incentives for producing toys, shoes textiles and electric appliances for as less as possible but with durability and other advantages. In 2005 December Airbus made a motion in Beijing. The deal included something similar to what General Motors did in US. Apart from their intention to sell 150 passenger jets to China, which is worth a several euro billions, Airbus is also considering building an assembly line in China, its first ever production base anywhere outside Europe. Similarly General Motors is doing fine in China even after suffering huge loss at other international sites. China's economic growth is good news for U.S. exporters who can flood the market with cheap Chinese export goods and reap huge profits in the US. But this also has a flip side to it that is being faced by US policy makers. Since China is reputedly and uncomfortably almost negligent of WTO guidelines that often cannot be neglected by US businessmen thereby adding cost to their production, the Chinese business and working conditions are sometimes compromised and

Crime prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Crime prevention - Essay Example Today in the world there is an increasing debate on the topic of firearms regulation. Different states in the United States of America have allowed people to carry their own weapons for self protection. This law was adopted first by the state of Florida and many people believed that this law would lead to disastrous effects.But it did not have a negative impact as many had thought and many states then followed in implementation of this law. It came to be realized with time that carrying firearms had a positive effect on the crime prevention. There are many reasons to this effect. The crime committers have a fear that they will be counter attacked hence this leads to a decrease in the crime rate. There is a second thought to this as well. People believe that this can lead to an increase in crimes because even normal people under pressure might be subject to committing crimes and due to the easy availability of weapons they would more easily be able to commit crimes. Carrying of firear ms thus has both effects. It increases the crime rate as well but it has a greater effect in decreasing the crime rate. People choose to carry weapons as a crime prevention method so as to increase their quality and standard of life. It provides them with security and it opens for them a path which makes them self dependant. They can themselves take care of their life and property and save themselves from different criminals. Carrying of firearms is very essential for people because at times when there is no police in sight and people need greater protection and safety these weapons are their sole helpers which provide them with a greater security where they can protect them by themselves. People also consider it important to keep firearms at their house because this helps them to guard themselves against robberies. Weapons to people act as tools and these laws which empower people to carry weapons actually help in decreasing crime rate. But then it has negative impact as well. Open allowance of carrying weapons can lead to deaths without any reason that is if the gun gets fired unintentionally this may lead to the death of the person himself or of others who are along with the person. But in the end it can be said that despite of the negative impact the carrying of firearms has it still has greater benefits and it is essential for one to carry weapons with him for self protection (Worsnop 1994). 2. Discuss the fundamental concepts of community crime prevention, providing specific examples of such programs. How did it arise Who participates and why Provide characteristics and demographics. Community Crime Prevention is a department of major concern to the authorities these days. Social Crime Prevention these days is handled by the authorities efficiently and professionally. New strategies are being implemented to involve the community towards the betterment of the criminal activities in the society. This involvement of the community can not only help the individuals living in the community to realize their duty but also help to decrease the rate of criminal activities occurring in a certain area. Different strategies formulated by the authorities urge the communities to work towards the betterment of the society. The community plays a major role in limiting the criminal activities in the area. The community works in cohesion with the authority to avoid the crimes. The authority gives specific instructions to the community members which are to be followed by them to lessen the criminal activities. These instructions include the installation of Closed Circuit Televisio n Cameras, the structure in which the house is built and the cohesion of the community. The community acts together to improve the situation in a society. It acts to

Elevator Pitch about Walmart (OR ANY PUBLIC COMPANY) Essay

Elevator Pitch about Walmart (OR ANY PUBLIC COMPANY) - Essay Example Its 2010 financial highlights revealed a staggering $99.9 billion revenue with a net income of $14.8 billion (IBM: About IBM) There is significant demand for IBM’s products and services that range from software, systems and servers, storage to networking, semiconductors and both technical and customer support. The fact that Buffet recently invested more than $11 billion for IBM stocks indicate the investor’s firm commitment for significant potentials for high returns. Its current market price at $192.18 as of December 12, 2011 (Bloomberg Businessweek) indicate that the stock of fairly valued. According to Seeking Alpha, â€Å"IBMs business quality (an evaluation of our ValueCreation and ValueRisk ratings) ranks among the best of the firms in our coverage universe. The firm has been generating economic value for shareholders with relatively stable operating results for the past few years, a combination we view very positively† (Seeking Alpha par. 4). With an asset base of $113.5 billion and a number of employees totaling more than 425 thousand worldwide, IBM remains to be the most financially resourceful and most secure investment that would prove to be financially rewarding in the coming